Low-lying areas of Dacope upazila in Khulna were inundated after a 100-metre section of an embankment on the Dhaki River collapsed, allowing tidal waters to flood nearby villages and farmlands early Wednesday.
According to the UNB report, the breach occurred near Hari Mandir, west of Batbunia Bazar in Ward 7 of Tildanga Union under Polder No. 31, when the river eroded a portion of the embankment during the night.
As a result, more than a hundred homes and vast croplands were submerged, forcing residents to move their belongings to safer ground.
Locals said the embankment had been weakened by multiple cyclones, including Amphan, and warned that nearly 1 kilometre of the structure near Batbunia Bazar remains vulnerable. Authorities have not yet been able to seal the damaged portion, and tidal water continues to flow into the area.
According to residents, the Water Development Board (WDB) had earlier assigned M/S Matin Enterprise to carry out repair work, but progress was hampered as some landowners reportedly objected to the use of their land and soil for rebuilding.
Tildanga Union Parishad chairman Zalal Uddin Gazi said that sand-filled geo-bags have been placed at the site and that full-scale repair will begin once the water recedes.
WDB Executive Engineer Asraful Alam said restoration work at several weak points in Polder No. 31 is ongoing. He said they would mobilise manpower and machinery to rebuild the damaged section as soon as the water level drops, admitting that a few locals had resisted soil collection.
Meanwhile, Dacope Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Asmat Hosen, accompanied by a Bangladesh Army team and local police, visited the spot and helped set up a temporary embankment. The UNO also distributed dry food among around 50 affected families.
